Thread: Do not misrepresent MEChA!

http://www.coloradodaily.com/articles/2 ... rtake1.txt

Do not misrepresent MEChA!

Monday, November 21, 2005 10:26 PM MST

We are MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan) - the Chicano Student Movement of Aztlan. But what is Aztlan? Do not accept the relentless white supremacist attacks on MEChA and their false, and racist, claims that we are a separatist organization. As the former co-chair of MEChA, I write to set the record straight.

In 1968, there existed only nine (9) Latino/Chicano students at the University of Colorado-Boulder. MEChA was formed to combat institutional racist ideologies and actions that deemed Latino/Chicano students as not suited for higher education because socially, they were deemed “unintelligent, lazy, and not ready for strong academic work.� This ideology - forced upon Latinos/Chicanos in the United States - created a continued discriminatory policy to either push students out of high schools or track students into vocational/technical careers. Hence, the formation of student-led Latino/Chicano organizations in the mid-1960's on college campuses across the nation.

Our mission is to combat institutional inequities, denounce stereotypical notions of Latino/Chicano students, force schools to recognize and provide quality education in public schools, demand Latino/Chicano cultural education (Chicano Studies) and provide opportunites for the recruitment and retention of Latino/Chicano students in higher education.

MEChA was created to solidify a national solidarity movement that encompassed all Latino/Chicano organizational goals across the nation into one national organization. MEChA's goals were formed, and still exist, from the many Latino/Chicano organizational goals like that of UMAS, MAYO and MASA. “El Plan de Santa Barbara,� our sole formal constitution (please see websites for accurate information: http://www.utep.edu/mecha/, http://www.colorado.edu/StudentGroups/MEChA) defining how MEChA is to operate, outlines these goals which include: the outreach, recruitment, and retention of Latino/Chicano students into higher education, non-violent political consciousness and mobilization, the function of MEChA, its voice for Latino/Chicano cultural education on campus and in Latino/Chicano neighborhoods, and primarily to create a place where Latino/Chicano students feel welcomed and share a sense of familia on oppressive college campuses.


Some people claim that MEChA is a separatist organization. But in reality MEChA and the belief in Aztlan as a homeland is not about reclaiming the US Southwest, but at most a belief that reinforces cultural pride and empowerment. “El Plan de Aztlan� is not a formal constitution of MEChA; it was in fact written before the formation of MEChA at the Chicano Youth Leadership Conference at Denver in 1968, yet was adopted for the strong message it implies solely on instilling cultural pride, cultural empowerment and establishing historical truths among Latinos and Chicanos.

Those who continue to believe that MEChA is a racist organization are not truly knowledgeable about the dynamic of institutional racism. Institutional racism stands as a power dynamic, and those individuals who do not wield the power to push Latinos/Chicanos out of schools, track Latinos/Chicanos instead into vocational/technical careers, incarcerate large numbers of Latinos/Chicanos due solely to prejudiced stereotypes, keep Latinos/Chicanos out of the realms of higher education and consistently deny Latinos/Chicanos basic human and granted constitutional civil rights.

MEChA stands as a culturally-centered organization, which must be respected for helping to foster cultural empowerment, pride, solidarity, and correcting historical inequities, all on a non-exclusive platform. It is important to note too that MEChA welcomes ALL who care about racial equality, social justice, and equity in higher education and communities of color.

We continue to ponder questions such as: “Why is there still not a large Latino/Chicano population in four-year universities or at CU-Boulder?� And

“Why not allow Chicanos/as to demand cultural pride, empowerment, and access into

higher education?� As such, UMAS-MEChA continues to confront cultural and racial intolerance and hatred where it begins across all borders and fulfill our main objectives.

With this, the members of UMAS-MEChA at CU-Boulder stand by our statement:

Come join us and our struggle for justice!

Federico L Rangel is the Senior Advisor for UMAS-MEChA at CU-Boulder. He is a post-Bachelor of Arts student in Secondary Social Studies at the CU School of Education.

The SORCE SPOT column runs Tuesdays in the Colorado Daily and allows diverse CU student groups to express themselves on issues of culture, diversity and campus life. It is sponsored by the Student Outreach and Retention Center for Equity, SORCE, and represents the views of that organization or of individual student authors and organizations, and not necessarily those of the Colorado Daily management or staff.

http://carbon.cudenver.edu/MEChA/plan-santa.html

For decades Mexican people in the United States struggled to realize the "American Dream". And some--a few--have. But the cost, the ultimate cost of assimiliation, required turning away from el barrio and la colonia. In the meantime, due to the racist structure of this society, to our essentially different life style, and to the socioeconomic functions assigned to our community by Anglo-American society--as suppliers of cheap labor and dumping ground for the small-time capitalist entrepreneur--the barrio and colonia remained exploited, impoverished, and marginal.

Commitment to the struggle for Chicano liberation is the operative definition of the ideology here. Chicanismo involves a crucial distinction in political consciousness between a Mexican-American (or Hispanic) and a Chicano mentality. The Mexican-American (or Hispanic) is a person who lacks self-respect and pride in one's ethnic and cultural background. Thus, the Chicano acts with confidence and with a range of alternatives in the political world. He is capable of developing an effective ideology through action.

No racism here.

The political sophistication of our Raza must be raised so that they do not fall prey to apologists and vendidos whose whole interest is their personal career or fortune. In addition, the student movement is more than a political movement, it is cultural and social as well. The spirit of MEChA must be one of "hermandad" and cultural awareness. The ethic of profit and competition, of greed and intolerance, with the Anglo society offers must be replaced by our ancestral communalism and love for beauty and justice. MEChA must bring to the mind of every young Chicano that the liberation of his people from prejudice and oppression is in his hands and this responsibility is greater than personal achievement and more meaningful than degrees, especially if they are earned at the expense of his identity and cultural integrity.

As a result, the self-determination of our community is now the only acceptable mandate for social and political action; it is the essence of Chicano commitment.

Self-determination? Cost of assimilation? No sign of reconquista thought here.

http://carbon.cudenver.edu/MEChA/plan-aztlan.html

A nation autonomous and free - culturally, socially, economically, and politically- will make its own decisions on the usage of our lands, the taxation of our goods, the utilization of our bodies for war, the determination of justice (reward and punishment), and the profit of our sweat.

El Plan de Aztlan is the plan of liberation!

Yep equaity and justice.

For La Raza to do. Fuera de La Raza nada.

Program
El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan sets the theme that the Chicanos (La Raza de Bronze) must use their nationalism as the key or common denominator for mass mobilization and organization. Once we are committed to the idea and philosophy of El Plan de Aztlan, we can only conclude that social, economic, cultural, and political independence is the only road to total liberation from oppression, exploitation, and racism. Our struggle then must be for the control of our barrios, campos, pueblos, lands, our economy, our culture, and our political life. El Plan commits all levels of Chicano society - the barrio, the campo, the ranchero, the writer, the teacher, the worker, the professional - to La Causa.

Nationalism
Nationalism as the key to organization transcends all religious, political, class, and economic factions or boundaries. Nationalism is the common denominator that all members of La Raza can agree upon.

Speaks for it self.

They are foreigners in a foreign land. Have they no idea that they are everything they just said they weren't? Oh, they with the power to deceive...well....almost!

They can't outsmart the ALIPAC ALLEY CATS!!

Grrrrrrr!!!



MARK IT: Toxic Material

SENT IT TO: Toxic Material Landfill

SEND THE BILL TO: National Council of La Raza

Pass the Fair Tax, eliminate income tax for individuals and corporations and remove the incentive to collect tax-exempt contributions for orgies like Aztlan MEcha and Shut Them Down!

NO money money, NO talkie talkie!

Maybe someone needs to send this article to Mr. Burghart who thinks WE are the RACIST ones.